Saline water hampers Satkhira rice yield

Rice cultivation on hundreds of bighas of farmland in Ashashuni upazila of Satkhira is under threat as saline water is being pumped into shrimp enclosures through pipes installed through a flood-control embankment along the Kapatakkha River.

The saline water has reportedly seeped into adjacent croplands, causing newly transplanted rice seedlings to turn reddish and die.

The situation was observed in the riverside area of Chakla village, where a mud embankment separates saline water from extensive rice fields. Farmers said the damage was particularly severe in fields adjacent to shrimp enclosures.

Local farmers alleged that shrimp enclosure owners had installed pipes by damaging the embankment to draw saline water from the Kapatakkha River for shrimp farming. They said the practice was not only damaging crops but also weakening the embankment.

Md Rashidul Islam, sub-divisional engineer of the Satkhira Water Development Board (WDB), said officials found the allegations to be true after visiting the site.

“Preparations are under way to file a case against shrimp enclosure owner Aslam Hossain. Steps are also being taken to remove such pipes,” he said.

He added that officials had found information about several others in the Chakla area who were allegedly extracting saline water after damaging the embankment.”They will also face legal action following an on-site survey,” he said.

Farmer Abdullah Dhali said his three bighas of rice land and several surrounding plots had been affected by saline water this year.

“Good rice was produced in this area last year. This year, saline water from the nearby enclosure has damaged the seedlings,” he said, adding that the problem would be resolved if pumping saline water was stopped.

Another farmer, Nurman Sardar, said rice seedlings on his six bighas of land had been destroyed.
“The seedlings have turned red.

There will be no rice harvest this year. The enclosure owners will raise shrimp using saline water, while our rice will die because of it. This cannot be accepted,” he said.

Nurman claimed that more than 1,500 bighas of land in Chakla, Shubhadra Ghati, Ruaar Bil and surrounding areas are cultivated with rice.

In contrast, three or four shrimp enclosure owners are allegedly using saline water for shrimp farming on around 150-200 bighas.

Md Touhidul Islam, a member of the Chakla Development Committee, said more than 250 bighas of land are under rice cultivation in Telikhali Bil. He alleged that saline water was being pumped through holes made in the main embankment, causing water to enter nearby rice fields and damage the seedlings.

However, shrimp enclosure owner Aslam Hossain denied cutting the embankment to install a pipe.

“I did not cut the embankment or the road. Soil at the base of the embankment had eroded, damaging the opening of an existing pipe. I later repaired it following the advice of local elders,” he said.

He said he had been operating a shrimp enclosure in the area for nearly 30 years and that the nearby rice fields had not been damaged by saline water last year.

Local Union Parishad member Abdur Rouf Sana, however, alleged that Aslam had cut the embankment near Chakla ferry ghat in Telikhali Bil, dug it nearly two feet deep and installed a pipe to draw saline water.

He said saline water was being pumped for a 30-35-bigha shrimp enclosure, putting rice cultivation on around 150 bighas of nearby land at risk.

On August 23, local residents submitted a written complaint to the executive engineer of the Satkhira Water Development Board (WDB), alleging that Aslam Hossain and 10-12 others had cut the flood-control embankment along the Kapatakkha River and installed pipes to draw saline water.